Can a Kiss Give You Oral Gonorrhea?

This entry was posted on December 13, 2018 by Dr. Gordon Huddle.

Can a kiss transmit Gonorrhea?

“Will a simple kiss give you Gonorrhea?” a question that's bothering you so you came searching for answers. When it comes to our modern habits, this is a valid question, and you are right to be concerned.

Gonorrhea is a sexually transmitted infection/disease (STD). From the acronym STD, Gonorrhea is transmitted by having unprotected vaginal, anal or oral, sex with a person who already has the infection. Vaginal fluids and semen help spread the infection, but unlike getting pregnant you can get Gonorrhea even if ejaculation did not happen.

Oral sex is also one of the means Gonorrhea can be transmitted between partners. This is an explicit warning that engaging in oral sex, (either receiving or giving oral sex) with someone with Gonorrhea, can result in your acquiring a Gonorrhea infection. Be aware that although the bacteria causing the infection are transmitted by semen and vaginal fluids of infected persons. The infection can also affect the mouth, throat, and eyes, not only the urethra, genitals, and anus. Repeat infection is also possible, even when a previous diagnosis was already eradicated by completing an antibiotic course for Gonorrhea treatment.

Pregnant women who have Gonorrhea can pass Gonorrhea on to their baby during childbirth. Gonorrhea infection can result in eye, joint, or blood infections. Gonococcal conjunctivitis is the most common manifestation of Gonorrhea transmitted during childbirth. Redness, swelling, and pus typically begin to appear 2 to 4 days after birth, when a baby has contacted Gonorrhea from the mother.

Gonorrhea transmission requires body fluids to transmit the bacteria that cause the infection. So it goes to say that a casual physical contact will not expose you to possible infection. Hugs, hand holding, sneeze, sharing of food or toilet seats are not mediums for the transmissions of the Gonorrhea bacteria.

Although saliva is also considered body fluid, no documented cases ever were known to anybody contracting Gonorrhea from kissing someone with a Gonorrhea throat infection. So there is your answer, you cannot get Gonorrhea from kissing.

There were only a few documented cases of Gonorrhea eye infection in adults. As an adult, the infection comes from touching the eyes with hands that touched infected semen or vaginal fluids.

Basically, what is Gonorrhea?

Gonorrhea is a sexually transmitted disease (STD), the infection of which is caused by the bacteria Neisseria Gonorrhoeae and affects both women and men. The bacteria typically target the mucous membranes, which generally are tissues that are moist, soft and not covered by an outer layer of skin. As a result, the eyes (the lining of the eyelid), mouth or throat are a few of the spots where the Gonorrhea bacteria are found, in addition to the vagina, cervix, Fallopian tubes, uterus, urethra, and rectum where the bacteria are usually present in a person with the infection.

Symptoms of oral Gonorrhea infection

Gonorrhea infection like any other sexually transmitted infections doesn’t usually show symptoms. Reports range from the majority of those with the infection to 40% of women and 10% of men show no symptoms. However, even in its early stages, it is already possible to spread Gonorrhea infection. The infection or the symptoms if any at all usually appear or become visible after one or two weeks of having sex with a Gonorrhea infected partner.

How Gonorrhea appears or present in men vary in many ways with how the infection appears or present in women, the most commonly reported signs are burning and painful sensation when urinating and abnormal vaginal, penile and anal discharges that may be green, yellow, or white. Another symptom is dysuria, which is also a common symptom with other STDs and one of the most critical sign to get tested. Fever, abdominal pain, pain during sex, painful periods, bleeding between periods for women. For men, some of the less common symptoms are pain or swelling of either or both testicles. The anus can be also get infected with abnormal discharge, bleeding, and rectal pain as the most visible Gonorrhea symptoms.

Symptoms of oral Gonorrhea or Gonorrhea infection in the mouth, throat, or eyes appear differently, However, it is also common for these types of infection to show no symptoms.

Oral, throat or eye Gonorrhea infection symptoms include:

Swollen, painful, or burning glands in the throat

Mild to severe sore throat or difficulty swallowing

Conjunctivitis, which is an itchy, red, slightly swollen eyes, which sometimes is accompanied by a sensitivity to light or pus.

Factors that increase chances of Gonorrhea infection

Although Gonorrhea is not transmitted by just making casual skin to skin contact, there are typical factors or behaviors that increase your chances of contracting the infection:

Preference of having sex with multiple sexual partners, especially with partners that you don’t know well. One night stand increases your chances of getting exposed to an infected person and contracted STDs.

Engaging in unprotected sex with partners who have Gonorrhea. Using condoms can reduce your risk of contracting an STD, but don’t remove the risk 100%. If you notice some symptoms regardless of whether you used a condom the last time you engaged in sex, don’t be inattentive to them, get yourself tested the soonest you can.

If you are a young adult (younger than 25 years old) and you only have a single, permanent partner with whom you regularly have unprotected sex, this practice also increases your risk. You don’t know or your partner will not likely tell you if he/she is having sex with others exposing her/him to the possibility of infection. When you notice some worrying signs, then get yourself to the nearest STD testing center near you or get yourself tested with an STD home testing kit.

Previous history of an STD diagnosis. Having already contracted one type of STD will weaken your immunity against these types of infection. Your body’s susceptibility to contracting another STD is increased, particularly HIV/AIDS.